Waterford — There is something straight from Americana about this. The hot gym on the winter Friday night. The rivalry game. With some star power. Senior Night. Dueling student sections. To borrow from Bill Parcells: "This is why you lift all them weights, this is why you do all that (stuff)."

And so if there is one high school basketball game you should come to see this season, you should make it Friday night. You should come to what they call "The X," otherwise known as the Francis X. Sweeney Fieldhouse at Waterford High. If you can't, you can always watch live on theday.com.

But to be there live will be to experience the barbs of rivalry. East Lyme vs. Waterford. The neighboring towns. The aspiring programs. And then this: The schools with the two of the most electrifying players in the region.

East Lyme: Dev Ostrowski, the whiz kid sophomore.

Waterford: Mikey Buscetto, the bewitching junior.

And yes: There is some inherent uneasiness about making this game more than it is: between a bunch of high school kids. And some trepidation about shining the lights too brightly on two teenagers. But then, there's a reason they wrote "Friday Night Lights." And a reason "Hoosiers" still resonates. Sometimes, high school kids are worth watching. Sometimes they unite communities, whether under the lights, gyms, auditoriums or theaters.

There is much to like about Ostrowski and Buscetto. Namely: how they conduct themselves. Maybe that's the appeal. There is plenty to their games, just not too much.

Ostrowski, as you'll learn in the accompanying video on theday.com, hails from Haiti. His parents in East Lyme adopted him from a Haitian orphanage when he was six. He remembers where he came from. He knows who he is. He's been raised well. Ostrowski is as comfortable conversing with adults as with his friends. That's a gift.

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Buscetto, also the subject of a video, comes from one of the most noteworthy families in the region. His dad, Mike, who owns Filomena's, the epicenter of all things Waterford, played at St. Bernard and Quinnipiac. He's become a guiding force in his son's life, mostly because he's been there. He doesn't, as some parents do, talk out of his tailpipe.

And Mikey has all the good qualities of his mom and dad. (His dad once got a technical at Quinnipiac for grabbing a section of the male anatomy in retort to an opponent's barb before he shot a free throw.) So far, Mikey's been a gentleman with a killer crossover.

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Then there's the rivalry. The games have been entertaining over the years. So have the student sections. At Waterford one night, former Waterford guard Davonta Valentine stood at the free throw line, while the East Lyme kids chanted "Wesley Snipes, Wesley Snipes," believing Valentine looked like the actor.

"I used to look like him, back when I had the 'fro," Valentine said after that game. "But now that I have the Mohawk, I'm a changed man. I wanted to laugh, because they couldn't think of anything better."

Lancer Nation, Waterford's clever bunch, once chanted "you need Spellman" to East Lyme during a timeout that followed a Waterford run. It referred to how things weren't so hot in East Lyme anymore without Waterford resident Dan Spellman, who used to coach the Vikings. Greg Gwudz, the Waterford coach at the time, buried his head in his hands so people couldn't see him laughing.

Friday night promises to be as entertaining. Waterford has the better record (13-3) but plays in the less competitive Division II of the ECC. East Lyme is 9-7, having just played Ledyard, NFA and New London in consecutive games.

There are many reasons to come watch. Some Americana, star power, rivalry and maybe even some comedy, depending on how armed the students come with their senses of humor. Maybe make a night of it and go out for lemonade after. Should be fun.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro